Victoria Coffee ’15 of the Hollins tennis team has been named Student-Athlete of the Week.

Athlete of the Week

Over the weekend, the team traveled to Fredericksburg to compete in the ITA Regional Tournament. Victoria competed against 63 of the best players in the region in the Championship Draw. After advancing with a win (6-1, 6-1) over Shannon Ramsey of St. Mary’s College, the senior from Plano, Texas, fell to Megumi Chen of Johns Hopkins. Chen entered the event as one of the top 10 players in the region. Victoria and her teammates will have a couple of weeks before competing in the Methodist University Invitational.

Congratulations to our Leaders of the Week, Nora Williams and Yolande Mokuba. These students students have impacted campus culture in a positive way that leaves a smile on the face of everyone they interact with. They are genuine, intelligent, and bold in their leadership in way that has shaped the lives of the people around them.

Nora Williams
“A woman of few words, but many profound thoughts, Nora is an amazing friend and student. She is always ready with words of encouragement and wisdom. She embodies the spirit of a Hollins woman, maintaining a priority of giving back to her community, academic excellence, and fun. One of the most active students on campus, Nora is known for her work the CCE organization and the Spanish department. She is a gem, one of my greatest confidants, and a true Hollins student leader.”

Yolande Mokuba
“Although Yolande Mokuba, is a first year at Hollins University she is an extraordinary leader. I have witnessed girls come to Yolande for advice in their classes and even fashion advice! She’s just getting her foot in the door but I know she’ll make a difference here at Hollins. She should be student leader of the week because she embodies the spirit of Hollins and is a prime example of an excellent first year student…Yolande comes from Africa, not only does she add to the the cultural melting pot, she embodies her culture in everyway. She is willing to teach about where she came from and also embrace other cultures…If she knows how to do anything, its leading people to victory. In brief, Yolande Mokuba is an excellent part of the Hollins community!”

HOP TO IT

“If you enjoy the outdoors, with some adventure thrown in, then the Hollins Outdoor Program (HOP) is for you. HOP combines adventure, education, self-awareness, and leadership all into one fun, exciting program.”

The Hollins Outdoor Program (HOP) is an integral part of Hollins culture: it is a part of the education process that makes us-in Jon Guy’s words-“better, faster, stronger, and harder to kill.” HOP has progressed our relationships with the Virginian landscape’s many beautiful trails, rivers, landforms, and unique challenges by preparing and educating our students on not simply surviving the wilderness, but THRIVING in the wilderness!

HOP is a great way to make new friends, learn new skills, and make lifelong memories. We even have a HOP Hall for our outdoor enthusiasts to live, play, and plan ways to get everyone active in and caring about the environment we are surrounded by. When you go on a HOP trip, you aren’t just having an outdoor experience, you are embarking on an adventure!

HOP’s mission is to “improve the quality of student life by providing opportunities to try alternate forms of recreation and increase respect for the local resources and the natural environment…[and] assist members of the Hollins community accomplish individual and group goals through adventure programming.” HOP reveals strength you never thought you had and teaches you something special about community, companionship, and outdoor recreation!

Getting outside with HOP is one of the most rewarding experiences that introduces you to what it means to embrace your surroundings, make lifelong friends, and challenge yourself to be “better, faster, stronger, and harder to kill.” From trail rides to the shooting range, HOP is full of enthusiasm for getting beginners to experts involved and hungry to learn more!

The “Hollins Experience” has come to mean many different things to many different people on campus. If someone were to ask me to describe my own Experience, I might talk about midnight drives to Cook Out, with the windows rolled down, belting out Miley Cyrus songs. I might talk about diving into the pool during my first swim meet. I might talk about sidesplitting laughter during Ring Night or the anxiety of writing a ten-page paper on Stanley Kubrick or the satisfaction of making it to the top of Tinker Mountain.

Though each student’s is distinctive and inimitable, I believe that everyone’s Hollins Experience is based around one very important value: community. Living together, learning together, growing together…community is a cornerstone of the Hollins philosophy as evidenced by our many traditions; the way professors interact with their students; and the fact that students regularly find themselves eating lunch with the University President, whom we lovingly call, “P. Gray.”

The beginning of the year is full of these community-building events, including a relatively new event called Speed-Friending. I initially heard of the event in my first year at Hollins, when it was sponsored by the Sophomore and Senior classes. Speed-Friending is a spin on speed-dating, in which people rotate around the room and have two minute intervals to meet each person in the room.

In the beginning of my first year I was exceedingly hesitant and eager to please, and the idea of making small talk with thirty or more strangers was more than intimidating. However, I attended the event anyway, and I am so glad that I did. I can remember meeting some of my favorite people at Hollins through that one event. Afterward, I began to recognize upperclassmen and other first years in the dining hall, and going to dinner alone didn’t feel half so overwhelming when I knew that there were a few familiar places to offer me a seat.

In my second year at Hollins, I was more eager to take part in Speed-Friending and to extend the welcome that I had received the year before. Not only did I meet plenty of new students, but I also got to know students in my own class with whom I hadn’t spoken much before. This is why I am so thrilled to be able to offer this event again this year on September 17th in the Rat. I hope that it may prove to be as helpful to all you lovely people as it was for me in my first and second years at Hollins. I hope that you meet new friends, eat until your stomachs burst, learn some fun facts about each other, and enjoy my very mainstream iTunes playlists.

I know that coming to Hollins for the first time (or coming back after a summer away) is an emotional business. I know that as new students, some of you may be feeling anxious, excited, happy, scared, sad all at the same time. I know it feels overwhelming now, but trust me when I say that you will find your way through it all.

The Hollins Experience is an elusive idea. It is often discussed but never fully defined. You can’t anticipate what yours will look like, and you may be surprised how things turn out. However, the most important advice I can say is to put yourself out there. You might be a social butterfly, you might be that person who just wants to sit in your room and watch Bridesmaids, you might be a little bit of both. Make connections, introduce yourself, smile! And come to Speed-Friending! You never know who you might meet.

You’ve heard the song sung from your quad windows and—for some—in your hearts. It is the song that solidified the path of my Hollins experience and determined not just what I wanted to do for my four years here, but with the rest of my life!

The step singing tradition is present at institutions from Wellesley to Sweet Briar. For us at Hollins, it marks the start of a new group of leaders and sends them into what may seem to be uncertain waters with community and a catchy tune. At Wellesley students took to song in 1899 and still sing in their decorated robes. At Sweet Briar, they sing to mark the end of senior year. BUT, at Hollins, we sing to mark new beginnings, recognize a vibrant history, and honor a dedication to community-engagement and a bond that lasts a lifetime.

This year, this tradition will need YOU to welcome the first-year class officers-especially junior class members, their sibling class. Join us Sep 24, 7:30pm. This year YOU will lead our beloved song and join our choir for a rendition of a song that never fails to bring a tear to my eye: Lift Thine Eyes. Seniors, wear your decorate robes; juniors, sing loud for your sibling class; sophomores, celebrate that you have navigated that uncertain path and CONQUERED it! Welcome a new generation of leaders by lifting thine voices.

I want to start my letter to you all by saying I hope you are having a wonderful summer. My summer has been filled with a mix of hard work and blissful laziness. I have been working diligently to make sure senior traditions are fun and well planned. I even have the help of two interns:

Currently, I am organizing First Step. For those who have never attended First Step in previous years, this is the event where seniors take their first steps onto Front Quad. Seniors will display their decorated robes with pride while dousing each other in cider. I want every senior to attend! I also want to extend this invitation to the Classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018. Even though it is not your First Step, we want to share these memories with you. I promise it will be loads of fun.

My goal for the 2014-2015 Academic school year is to create fun events and to continue with much loved traditions. I want my focus to be on having high attendance for every event. I plan to do this by welcoming all students to participate in traditions such First Step, Tinker Day, Ring Night, and Founder’s Day. Besides the students who live on campus, I would like to make sure Horizon and Commuter students are well informed and feel welcomed. Lastly, I want to put a special focus on fundraising so that we are able to have Gatsby-like parties!

I look forward to seeing all of you in September! Seniors, have fun with your robes!

Hate walking all the way to Kroger? Eager to bike the Greenway instead of walking it? We have some exciting news! Welcome to a progressive year where your needs are met, where our ideas are expansive, and we seek to harness your passions!

S.E.A.’S MISSION:

We believe developing environmentally sustainable practices is a vital step toward decreasing our university’s carbon footprint. We are working to assess the full extent to which we can become a more sustainable university and promote sustainability throughout the student body. We envision a campus that is united in its efforts to minimize our environmental impact.

Students for Environmental Action (S.E.A.) will be starting a new up-cycle bike program on campus called Roadies and Dropbars. We think it’s pretty R.A.D.! This program will focus on fixing up the bikes on campus, giving them some fresh Hollins paint, and promoting sustainable transportation on and around the Hollins community! Currently S.E.A. is focusing on the bikes already on campus and helping them get back on their wheels. If you have a bike you’d like to donate or happened to leave behind a rusted friend when you left, let us know!

Missing the days of free shirts and participation prizes? FRET NO MORE! Hollins SGA presents Join the Crew: every event you attend from lectures to socials counts towards your count to earn a shirt AND GLORY! These are the levels:

Crew—25 events

First Mate—50 events

Captain—100 events

Attend the event, have a blast, and get the event coordinator’s signature to earn your shirts! The Captain Level includes not just a shirt, but a captain’s hat and more perks! Get involved and enjoy the return!

SGA Roundtable seeks to recognize an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of leadership in dedicating their time and efforts to improving and innovating clubs/organizations and/or the campus community. This person does not have to hold an executive leadership position, run the entire organization, or even be affiliated with a specific club/organization. They have made it obvious that Hollins is their priority and does their best to actualize that in supporting the campus community in some special way. They embody the spirit of Hollins with efforts of active leadership, positivity, and communal support. When you think of someone who makes a difference, someone people look to for guidance and support, someone who dedicates their time to campus improvement, this is that person.

Professors, administrators, peers, etc. can nominate students they feel have exhibited great leadership! There will be a link on this page and our official webpage and we will let you know when we commence taking nominations!

AND SO MUCH MORE TO COME!

INCLUDING PROGRAMS WITH:

ANGELS OF ASSISI

Do you have fun ideas to enhance student involvement? Email Georden: westge@hollins.edu

We love voting. There is something special about a glimmering, gold paddle being an instrument of democracy.

A Recipe for Your Senate Paddle

Spray your perfectly plain paddle with adhesive until you are nervous about losing skin from your hands. Close your eyes and think happy thoughts. Add the following:

1/2 pounds glitter

200-300 small jewels

3 tubes puffy paint

Smiles

Dreams

Once your paddle is too heavy to lift you know it is done to perfection.

9. MERIWETHER GODSEY

Should we say anymore? Do we even need to?

If you have any questions, concerns, tears of thanks feel free to walk into the Director’s office: her door is always open. Making this dining experience worthwhile: ADVOCATE for your experience.

8. QUADSIDE CHATS

Think State of the Union meets CatDog. Be excited, be afraid. Featuring hosts Georden West and Mercury Hipp–best friends, coworkers, weirdos–and special guests from all over campus.

7. ANYTHING NAUTICAL

If you cannot tell from our social media, we’ve set sail for this year!!!! All aboard the LEADERship! Our shirts could sail the seven seas and our SGA office is now a home port! Below is the shirt that we were banned from ordering. We still cry at night over this.

6. DECORATED ROBES IN SENATE

Seniors, we have worked too hard on our robes to wear that just a handful of times! After ten hot glue burns, and callouses from sewing superhero patches, we know how hard it must be not wear your robes to class, to sleep, when you take a shower, etc.NOW YOU CAN WEAR THEM TO SENATE EVERY WEEK!

5. LAVERNE COX

Sunday, September 28, 7:30 pm

We can’t even. Too excited. Sentences difficult.

4. SGA SURPRISES

We cannot tell you what we have planned. It would take the fun out of it! Attend events and traditions–see what we have in store!

3. HOME GAMES

Let’s let our athletes know how much we care: GO TO THEIR GAMES! The last time I went to the gym was two years ago: they do this stuff EVERY SINGLE DAY! That alone should be congratulated…

2. LAVERNE

We just had to say it again…

1. SERVING YOU

Our mission, our objective, is to serve you, the student body. It is something we LOVE doing. We are always open to let you know where we are and open to ideas about where we can go! We want to advocate for you on the highest boards and help create places for open dialogue that transcends hierarchy. Join us, tell us. We want to be revolutionary this year.

Sophomore year is THE year to truly invest yourself in the Hollins experience! There is so much to do! BUT, it is a vital year to get involved with HOP: the Outdoor Leadership Certificate is available to all willing students ready to challenge and dedicate themselves to growth in the Hollins Outdoor Program. Go on a trip or set your sights on the certificate! No matter what your aim, HOP is a great way to make new friends, see beautiful things, and never spend a weekend bored indoors!